Thread: Wade & Butcher

I recently aquired this nice W & B near wedge razor. It's about 6/8th in width and has a nicely done thumb notch which does allow for a comfy feel in hand. The scales are in good condition except for some warping at the wedge. My initial plan was to dismantle and do a full resto on the blade and scales. But I've changed my mind .

I reckon the patina and a few blemishes look ok, so the blade will stay as is. I will instead unpin and give the scales a good soak in neatsfoot oil and straighten them. I honed the razor with Chosera 1, 3, 5k, Snow White 8k and finished with Naniwa 12k. I've not shaved off the 12k before so it was a first for me. Shave was good but certainly not great. Once the scales are done and it's repinned I will rehone and finish with a Jnat.

That blade looks to be in great shape.

I have found that Sheffield steel responds very nicely to my coticules and haven’t had much luck with them on synthetic finishers. It may be that natural stones are more forgiving with those blades.

.
.
Very good pics. Thanks for posting them.
I agree with your decision to leave it as is, the patina, etc gives the razor some character.

Your right, the patina looks very nice on that one

The wedge might not actually be a wedge, it looks to be beveled on only one side.

If you have an old clothes iron, it will flatten the scales very quickly. About 10 minutes, if that.

Originally Posted by outback

Your right, the patina looks very nice on that one

The wedge might not actually be a wedge, it looks to be beveled on only one side.

If you have an old clothes iron, it will flatten the scales very quickly. About 10 minutes, if that.

Sometimes the way a wedge is being held in front of the camera makes it seem as if one side is not angled and the other side is, so it looks more like a microtome than a wedge. Sometimes, it’s just a result of how my old eyes see things. I have a W & B that I still can’t decide on whether it’s a wedge or a microtome.

If you're not going to do blade restoration you might soak it in the neatsfoot still pinned together. It certainly won't hurt the blade. I don't know that I would even do that. Those scales look pretty good to me. You could straighten them using a corndog stick and a little heat then manually bend them and hold them there till they cool. Not too much heat though. If that wedge is lead you can melt it with too much.

Originally Posted by DZEC

Sometimes the way a wedge is being held in front of the camera makes it seem as if one side is not angled and the other side is, so it looks more like a microtome than a wedge. Sometimes, it’s just a result of how my old eyes see things. I have a W & B that I still can’t decide on whether it’s a wedge or a microtome.

I see that too. I think might be because of how the notch is ground. They are often (maybe more often than not) not symmetrical and it creates an optical illusion.

Originally Posted by outback

Your right, the patina looks very nice on that one

The wedge might not actually be a wedge, it looks to be beveled on only one side.

If you have an old clothes iron, it will flatten the scales very quickly. About 10 minutes, if that.

Thanks Mike. Should I wrap the scales in a piece of cloth or something to protect them?

Originally Posted by DZEC

Sometimes the way a wedge is being held in front of the camera makes it seem as if one side is not angled and the other side is, so it looks more like a microtome than a wedge. Sometimes, it’s just a result of how my old eyes see things. I have a W & B that I still can’t decide on whether it’s a wedge or a microtome.

OK, new word, microtome!

Translation please.

It's a razor made for taking sections for a microscope. They are ground like a kamisori with one flat side and hollow ground on the other. Here's a picture of the toe end of a Braun that I have.

Otherwise they look like a regular western straight